Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Monday 26 February 2018

Political end to Olympics: N. Korea offers talks with U.S.

By TED ANTHONY into the Olympic Stadium of masterminding a lethal
Associated Press was watched by the world 2010 military attack on the
PYEONGCHANG, South — and by dozens of North South.
Korea (AP) — The overtly Korean cheerleaders ap- Outside the stadium, North
political 2018 Winter Olym- plauding in calibrated syn- Korea was not welcomed
pics closed Sunday night chronicity. as much.
very much as they began, Also watching was an More than 200 anti-Pyong-
with humanity's finest ath- equally extraordinary, if yang protesters, waving
letes marching exuberant- motley, crew. Deployed in South Korean and U.S.
ly across the world stage a VIP box together were flags, banging drums and
as three nations with de- Moon, U.S. Vice President holding signs like “Killer Kim
cades of war and suspi- Mike Pence and North Ko- Yong Chol go to hell,” ral-
cion among them shared a rean leader Kim Jong Un’s lied in streets near the park.
VIP box — and a potential envoy sister, Kim Yo Jong. They denounced the South
path away from conflict. The latter two, at logger- Korean government’s deci-
Senior North Korean official heads over North Korea’s sion to allow the visit. There
Kim Yong Chol, South Ko- nuclear program, didn’t were no major clashes.
rean President Moon Jae-in speak, and the world That wasn’t all when it
and U.S. presidential advis- From front row left, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, his watched the awkward- came to these odd games.
er and first daughter Ivanka wife, Kim Jung-sook, and Ivanka Trump, U.S. President Donald ness. Let’s not forget Russia — or,
Trump sat in two rows of Trump's daughter, watch the closing ceremony of the 2018 Win- What followed was a strong we should say, “Olympic
seats behind the Olympic ter Olympics along with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of North dose of athletic diplomacy: Athletes from Russia,” the
Korea's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, standing third
rings, meant to represent a from back row left, in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Sunday, Feb. two weeks of global expo- shame-laced moniker they
competition of peace and 25, 2018. sure for the Korean team, inherited after a doping
international unity. In close Associated Press particularly the women’s brouhaha from the 2014 So-
proximity — though with no hockey squad, which chi Games doomed them
apparent communication and an act of faith for the ver. trained for weeks with to a non-flag-carrying Py-
between Trump and Kim future." That these games would North and South side by eongchang Games.
— they watched a spirited, "With your joint march you be circumscribed by poli- side getting along, taking Two more Russian ath-
elaborate show that con- have shared your faith in a tics was a given from the selfies and learning about letes tested positive in Py-
cluded the Pyeongchang peaceful future with all of outset because of regional each other. eongchang in the past two
Games. us," Bach said. "You have rivalries. North Korea, South On Sunday night, though weeks. So on Sunday morn-
Even as dancers performed shown our sport brings Korea, Japan and China K-pop megastars EXO ing, the IOC refused to re-
cultural stories to music be- people together in our very are neighbors with deep, claimed center stage, instate the team in time
fore a huge crowd, South fragile world. You have sometimes twisted histories leaders rejoined athletes as for the closing but left the
Korea's presidential office shown how sport builds that get along uneasily with a primary focus. door open for near-term
released a brief statement bridges." each other in this particular Kim, President Donald redemption from what one
saying that Pyongyang It was all an extraordinary geographic cul-de-sac. Trump’s daughter and exasperated committee
had expressed willingness bookend to an extraordi- But there was something Moon sat in close proxim- member called “this entire
to hold talks with Washing- nary Olympics that fea- more this time around. ity as the Olympics’ end Russia drama.”
ton. tured athletic excellence, Hanging over the entire unfolded before them Away from the politics, hu-
The North has "ample inten- surprises and unexpected games was the saga — or and the statement was re- manity’s most extraordi-
tions of holding talks with lurches forward toward a opportunity, if you prefer leased in Seoul. Also seat- nary feats of winter athletic
the United States," accord- new detente on the Ko- — of a delicate diplomatic ed nearby was Gen. Vin- prowess unfolded, reveal-
ing to the office. The North's rean Peninsula. Thrilled ath- dance between the Ko- cent Brooks, commander ing the expected triumphs
delegation also agreed letes marched into the are- reas, North and South, riven of U.S. forces Korea. Unlike but also stars most unlikely
that "South-North relations na around the world's flags, by bloodshed and discord Pence, Ivanka Trump was — from favorites like Mi-
and U.S.-North Korean rela- relaxed after showing their and an armed border for smiling as she turned in the kaela Shiffrin, Shaun White
tions should be improved athletic best to themselves the better part of a cen- North Koreans’ direction. and Lindsey Vonn to sud-
together," Moon's office, and to the world. tury. It was not clear what she den surprise legends like
known as the Blue House, "We have been through a The games started with a was smiling at, but a White Czech skier-snowboarder
said. lot so that we could blaze a last-minute flurry of agree- House official said it was Ester Ledecka and the
International Olympic trail," said Kim Eun-jung, skip ments to bring North Ko- not the North Koreans. medal-grabbing “Garlic
Committee President of the South Korean wom- reans to South Korea to The developments Sunday Girls,” South Korea’s home-
Thomas Bach, just be- en's curling team, which compete under one com- both inside and outside town curling favorites.
fore declaring the games captured global renown as bined Koreas banner. Per- the VIP box were particu- Other Olympic trailblazers:
closed, addressed the two the "Garlic Girls" — all from ish the thought, some said, larly striking given that Kim Chloe Kim, American snow-
Koreas' cooperation at the a garlic-producing Korean but Moon’s government Yong Chol, now vice chair- boarder extraordinaire. The
closing ceremony, saying, hometown. They made a stayed the course. By the man of North Korea’s rul- U.S. women’s hockey team
"The Olympic games are good run for gold before opening ceremony, a ing Workers’ Party Central and men’s curlers, both of
an homage to the past finishing with runner-up sil- march of North and South Committee, is suspected which claimed gold.q